Indigenous 12-year old beaten to death in north-east Argentina

The death by beating of a 12 year old indigenous Qom child in the north of Argentina had shocked public opinion following on another incident less than a month ago when a gendarme run over an indigenous grandmother and a ten month old baby girl.

Governor Jorge Capitanich: “our solidarity with the family and the whole qom community”

“The homicide to Imer Ilvencio Flores has plunged the Chaco community in mourning. Our solidarity with the family and the whole Qom community” said Jorge Capitanich, governor of the impoverished province of Chaco in the northeast of Argentina and neighbouring with Paraguay.

The 12 year old Flores last January 4 was celebrating summer festivities with several friends but never returned home and his dead body was found the following day with the face totally disfigured in Villa Bermejito a village in Chaco.

“The criminal killed him with a bat” said his uncle Miguel Flores who added Imer was only identified because of a tattoo with a qom symbol which had also been partially scrapped off.

“The homicide which occurred only a hundred metres away from the municipal camping site has a 31 year old murder suspect: we call on the courts to act hastily to resolve this terrible incident” added Capitanich.

The suspect under arrest had a discussion with the youngster before his death and also has a record of aggressions against other indigenous from the same community, who also consider him guilty of the murder.

“Once again naroqshe (white man) impregnates with pain and death the Qom people” said the Qom Carashes Council from the region in a release.

An estimated 300 members of the Qom community are camping outside the local police station to demand justice; an incident which through Internet and the social networks is has shocked urban Argentina and is rapidly expanding outside the country.

The death of 12-year old Flores follows another incident in which a ten months old Qom baby and her 49 year old grandmother were run over by a gendarme in the neighbouring province of Formosa.

The grandfather who survived the attack claims “it was no accident, it was on purpose” and the gendarme instead of helping, beat him and threatened his life if he filed a complaint on the incident.

“He beat me, he insulted me, he called me f… indian while my grand-daughter was agonizing”, claims Ricardo Coyipé a well known activist of Qom rights. The indigenous population is Argentina according to the latest census is 2.5% but in Chaco and Formosa the percentage in more than double, and their lands are prey of big landlords of the region with support from local police and security forces.

Both incidents are embarrassing for Capitanich who has political ambitions that go beyond that of governor of a north-eastern province.

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Pirat-hunter isn't a native Amerindian, he just pretends to be. When the Maupache were demonstrating against the Argentine government HE was saying that Argentina should round them up, steal the rest of their land AND put them on 'reservations'. His exact words. He even said they should be 'sent' to the Falklands, even though the islands have NEVER had an indigenous population.

So PH wants to forcibly steal all of their land (what little they have left) - no way is he an Amerindian. He just pretends to be because he thinks it gives him some credibility.

Another reason he certainly isn't a South Amerindian is the fact that he appears extremely resentful of ...people who speak English (the British and North Americans especially)... but he apparently has NO problem with people who speak Spanish. This is a very strange attitude to have for a South Amerindian to have, isn't it? To hate people who didn't steal your land, but are okay with the people who did!

His argument, however, is that the native Amerindians in Argentina came from Chile! If HE was an actual native Amerindian, he would know that native people were there before Argentina and Chile existed, and probably wandered over the whole continent, when it suited them to do so, prior to the arrival of those nasty European settlers who stole all their land. The Europeans that stayed and became Argentinians.

However, this is a tragic story, my heart goes out to the family of this young boy. Attitudes in Argentina need to change. Like everywhere there is a small percentage of very racist people, a small percentage of people trying to help, but a large percentage of the population just don't seem to care, too busy getting on with their own lives.

It's this larger percentage of people that need to wake up, look at what's happening around them, and then actually DO something to make the government stop this terrible violence against these native people's.

Marcos etc - here we know damn well that this is just what your lot would aim to do to us Islanders given the chance! Plenty in your Govt here in 1982 were getting ready to remove a fair number of us who were felt to be unsympathetic.

where is ProArg, BK, they always are first ones to comment on the rights of indigenous population in Chile.
But never condemn Cristina's matones going arround and killing argentine indigenas by will, which happens like in no other part of the south cone.

Apparently, it's all Britain's fault. The Mapuche Nation HQ is in Bristol, and we're behind all of the movement there towards their own self determination (this is from reading a few comments on la nacion on a relevant article for those that speak spanish).

Sadly, this boy is one of many. It's sad when people have to protest and beg the incompetent, lazy and corrupt police to do their jobs. This boys ethnic origin is irrelevant, children shouldn't have to fear murderers that run free like dogs, because the justice system provides no protection.

#2 apparently you cannot read so well in inglis...would you like the article translated in argentine spanish? It is not about Canada, it is about argentina and a murder. Stay on topic.
Though I may loath the trolls that support the incompetent kirchners and peronists, I have no issues with the people of argentina in general, be they white or indian. This is a tragedy that goes beyond nationality, it is a human tragedy caused by the violent nature of man himself. It does not matter if you are in South America, North America, Europe or Asia, the violence of humanity is there and cannot be hidden by not reporting crime statistics.
12 years old beaten with a baseball bat! My heart goes to the parents as a child should never die before the parents.

In no way meaning to exploit a situation, the next time MARK ALEXANDER or ALEX VARGAS try to cite UK or US 'murdering Afghan women and children', we can remind them that their own police force actively murders their own people. No moral high ground for those trolls.

Here I am, Conqueror, and my blood is boiling over the senseless killing of a 12 year old child just because he is of a race different to his killer.

This is what the Kirchner's divide and rule policy has brought to this country, their way of permanent confrontation between Argentines has borne fruit, now all the thugs think that they can kill and torture with impunity, just like the Junta did between 1976 and 1983.

The killer of young Imer Ilvencio Flores is the heir of Astiz of ESMA fame and has been given his licence to kill by this government that allows condemned killers to leave the prisons.

My heart goes out to the parents and familly of this poor child, I hope that our Judiciary, in spite of the attacks it is suffering, will condemn the killers for life!!!!!

tut....tut..... yet another example of the argentinas imperialistic, expansionist ambitions, growing disregard for its indigenous communities committing crimes against humanity in their relentless push for land grab, lets just hope there isnt another conquest of the desert, an appauling act of genocide unleashed upon the original inhabitants of argentina who are the most vulnerable, neglected men,women and children oppressed and killed once again by genocidal archaic spanish colonialists still living in a era of sail ships long forgotten,typical of argentinas behaviour.

Maybe the indigenous people need to rise up against these spanish occupiers under the banner of SELF DETERMINATION! and force argentina lying and crying into the 21st century.

But WHAT is he doing about the policia? Deliberately running over a grandmother and her baby granddaughter and now standing by in the murder of a 12 YO lad? Why are these cretins still in the policia?

It’s like a mini ‘Conquest of the desert’ all over again it seems given the attacks over previous months are anything to go by.

It is encouraging that AG have the likes of Simon68 within their midst. As long as he and others of like mind are still in AG there is hope for the future but it’s a long hard road to pull the country out of its present quagmire mainly due to TMBOA and her vile brood.

#16 Troy I never thought that you were. It's just a sad, senseless murder of a child. In some cultures a 12 year old is near an adult but a 12 year old will always be a child to me. And you are correct that I get tired of hearing pirate hunters blathering rheotoric about crime in other countries when Argentina has equally their share and the same kind.

#2 when will you finally understand that it is OK if the white man deports, enslave, persecutes, arms, thieves, murder, or executes others but it is not OK to have one single imperfection if you are native, latino, Chinese, black or Indian.
#1 I will explain anything if only you could explain why you people kill innocent Muslim women and children to replace their leaders for terrorists puppets?
#2 I guess arming people with Automatic weapons to kill school children is more ethical for USA, I wonder what the sons of slaves have to say about your opinion of Argentina's policies. They can't be hard to find the jails in USA is full of them. You are not mad about this poor two natives in Argentina, you are really enraged by F,Uk USA Canada, killing thousands of innocent muslim women and children in Libya, I doubt you out of anyone in this planet can be bothered about natives, if not to be used for some personal gain.
#5 anyone who sees how you people treat innocent women and children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya can understand that this report on Argehtina is just a distraction from the oil theft and murder else where.
#6 mapuches are from Chile and they are welcome to go back I think you will find a lot of history and literature about their heritage in chile, my tribe is diaguita the other tribes are pampas and patagones all Argentine. No mapuches sorry that's a Brutish invention.
Trust me no one here is asking for your help do us a favor go help Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan they seem to need your help more then before the terrorist came. Have you Ever tried comedy? You should.
#7 looking at libya, Iraq, afghanistan, Palestine, lebanon and Syria
Argentina has nothing bias about it but pride. Try again.
#8 we are learning to deal with the British by watching how british deal with Muslims in Libya. A bomb a day keeps the idealist away.
#9 Argentina is not UK, what does that say about UK or the Argentine slave trade, every single English is a joker now. Links anyone?

Troy....I never knew you were killing muslims and child? lol Alex is one strange and angry indian from Canada. He seems to be angry from what the argentines did to the Amerindians.......decimate the natives from argentina. But he continues to spew on over racist issues from hundreds of years ago. The world id not going to change and go take to the way it was in 1700. If he wants to be angry at the white man.......asslips kirchner is a white and curently repressing the modern argentines.

He seems to have misplaced his nuclear record, do he choses to deflect by mentioning a war in a foreign country, or what happened 200 years ago.

Murder of Amerindians in Argentina TODAY, by their own Police forces, covered up by the same and the judiciary, is bang ON-TOPIC.

For some reason, (cowardice? intellectual dishonesty? stupidity?) he refuses to condemn this genocide, or even comment on it!!

In the past, I have caught him grossly misrepresenting Canadian government documents and statistics. When confronted, he waffled on, in incoherent muddled excuses, and then meaningless bluster and insults.

I suggested that if he had to falsify facts to make his arguements, they must be inherently flawed.

the saddest thing of all, seems this instutionalized crime is not an exeption in Argentina. I was shocked when I got to know about underage kids being tortured in Salta by policmen in jail and all filmed ! Several weeks later, it was even proved these poor boys had been innocent and the individuals blamed for the crime been caught.